Holiness, Eye Patches, Free Will...OH MY!!!

I was sharing with Brad yesterday about a speaker I heard once who told a story of growing up in his grandfather's church. He specifically remembered one sermon seried his grandfather did about holiness. He said "holiness" was a very difficult concept for a kid to grasp but he was very interested in becoming holy. He prayed and asked God to send him a good example of true holiness that he could learn from.

The sermon series on holiness continued for a few weeks. One week the scriptural text for that Sunday was from Matthew 5:

27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28 But
I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

As the sermon went on he found himself needing to leave the sanctuary because he had to use the restroom. As he was leaving the sanctuary a man walked into the church wearing an eye patch! He stood there in total awe! He thought "now that must be a really Holy man because he actually DID it!"

Follow me on my rabbit trail here...Brad and I have recently discovered the TV Program "24". In one of the season closers the main character found himself and a close friend in a situation that was life and death. In order to save his friends life (who was handcuffed to a bomb that would release a catastrophic virus that would not only kill his friend, but millions of people if it went airborne) he took the axe from the emergency fire station and literally cut his friend's hand off to save the lives of many.

I remember making the comment (half in jest at the time) "You know, if your right hand offends you, cut it off! Better to lose and arm than your whole life!"

I've just never had a situation hit so close to home with me regarding this principle until it came to my decision to end this friendship I spoke about earlier this week.

I remember telling Brad for years that this particular friend was like my right arm (in our happier days). I actually know now, more than ever before, what it truly means to cut off that arm when it offends or threatens to impede your walk with the Lord.

This is one of the harder lessons of "free will" I have discovered. It is so contrary to our human nature to inflict pain upon ourselves. But I had to make a choice. In my free will, I chose to honor God with my whole heart and risk injury to myself to become wholly FREE from this situation.

There is no anesthetic for the heartache that comes. It is only the full faith and assurance that it is an act of obedience and it will be blessed. I will go free. Yet is it hard to celebrate knowing the devestation I caused...yet there is that part of me that REJOICES through the tears. Doing the right thing is not always pain free.

But I overwhelmingly sense that "great cloud of witnesses" that surrounds me and cheers me on. I am truly walking in the reality of what Jesus meant when he said, "Come to Me all who are weary, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I have no words to adequately express how heavy and suffocating the yoke was that I just laid down. I find I am breathing easier and walking lighter.

I thank God for His indescribable gift: JESUS.

He is more than enough. He is all I need. And His grace is sufficient.

Dawn